What Is to Be Done?

"What to do? " (Russian Что делать? , Scientific transliteration CTO delat ) is a 1902 published paper by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, which is considered his major work. In it Lenin justified by consideration of the cooperation of educated middle class and working class socialist parties within the theory of the " vanguard of the proletariat ", which occupies a central position within Marxism -Leninism.

The title of the document relates to the novel Nikolai Chernyshevsky Gawrilowitsch, the author wanted to honor Lenin in this way.

The Communist elite of the working movement

Theory

Grounds

The justification of the theory of the " vanguard of the proletariat " is carried out in Chapter II b) of the book ' What to do? ". In the polemic discussion with the editors of the magazine " Rabochaya Mysl " Lenin cites a quote from Karl Kautsky's critique of the party program of the Austrian SDAP as an authority argument:

Then he lays this out in his mind:

Explanation

Lenin distinguishes between conscious and spontaneous actions, being under a conscious act is a rational (or scientific) justifiable action and understood by a spontaneous act irrational, emotionally specific or simply " mindless " action. The instruction at a deliberate action in the Leninist sense, it can be kept up to date in the form of a hypothetical imperatives expressed.

He goes Kautsky following assumes that the working class due ( determined ) by their living conditions within capitalism while accepting an anti - capitalist mentality, but will also kept at a distance from political education. Accordingly, they can not develop their own political theory, but is dependent on cooperation with the educated middle class, but that does not necessarily represent the political theory of socialism.

Here, the working class tend spontaneously, as so-called " plain Gewerkschaftlerei " designated conservative positions to be assumed by the improvement of their economic and legal situation are possible, but not be able to overthrow capitalism - or not even that strove - why the improvement is always limited by time. This leads to ideologically related subordination of the working class under the entrepreneurship.

The had a vanguard of intellectuals and theoretically trained workers to counteract the "elite of the labor movement ," there whose mission is to reduce the influence of the " Only - Gewerkschaftlerei " and competing political theories such as reformism or the social liberalism and guide the workers' movement ( within the meaning of educational concept ).

Practice

The practical implementation of the theory of the " vanguard of the proletariat " was sought by the party organization on the principle of democratic centralism. This principle creates Lenin in Chapter IV of the book ' What to do? ", Especially under point e ) ( " conspirators "organization and" democracy "). In contrast to the structure of "normal" parties where the top party organizations were chosen from the lower, all branches of the RSDLP (B ) were subordinate to the Central Committee in a hierarchical ranking.

Here, the upper divisions were given the task to lead the lower branches and interfering with their personnel decisions, so that only those candidates for party offices be approved, were trained in the extent deemed necessary in Marxism. That it was a form of structural discrimination created, theoretically trained party members towards untrained preferred and result in the occupation of party offices by a socialist elite should.

To prevent this process is purely subjective completed by local subdivisions, Lenin saw in Chapters IV and V, the creation of a party newspaper and professional employment of agitators ( " professional revolutionaries " ) through the RSDLP in front, so that the ubiquity of ideological agitation could be ensured at all levels. These demands he could realize through the establishment of Pravda and the establishment of a network of paid speakers.

After the October Revolution, a comprehensive system of Party schools and the education of the youth organizations of the Communist Parties was additionally created, by which it should be possible to gain the required knowledge and demonstrate this also. To this end, certificates and awards were issued, the membership of the " avant-garde" expressed as an intra -partisan status symbol.

As a result, the studies developed at Party schools at the usual career path within communist parties.

Criticism

Lenin's position in the document "What to do? " Or the theory of the " vanguard of the proletariat " has been criticized in various ways. Here, the following arguments are given priority:

• A higher-level party organization could lower divisions only guide in the Leninist sense, when its board actually has a higher expertise, which was not always the case. The historical example of Stalinism show that the principle of democratic centralism can be converted to that not be appropriate according to ideological criteria, but to the chairman of the party candidates obedient used in the party offices.

• The party schools were not working independently and critically, but purely subjective based on the position of the Central Committee (see " Institute for Marxism -Leninism of the Central Committee of the CPSU "). Accordingly, the system of Party schools causing no actual higher qualification of its graduates, but their indoctrination and radicalization.

• Under the conditions of a totalitarian dictatorship of objective scientific discourse is impossible, so that the basis on which the avant-garde is to be trained, does not exist. This requires much more the terms of an " open society " in the sense of Karl Popper.

• The idea of ​​an elite and in particular the structural discrimination of untrained members of the party in a " new type of party " is basically anti-democratic and should therefore be rejected.